Plan B
by Fayre Amore
Summary: "Make yourself unavoidable. You need to fill her mind so full of you that it overflows to her heart." In which James glares a lot, Sirius is on the receiving end of those glares, and Remus acts like the Marauder he is.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N This is a new story I'm starting up. It will be a multi-chapter fic, but still relatively short :)**

**Oh, and I don't own Harry Potter- the wonderful J.K. Rowling holds all claim!**

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James Potter had a problem, an issue, a… dilemma, if you will. A certain redheaded girl had taken over his mind. He couldn't sleep at night. His grades were slipping- particularly the classes _she _happened to be in- and he found himself unable to pay attention in even his favorite subjects. He'd even found his _appetite _to be lacking, and that was something that just _didn't happen._

What had she done to him? He'd always had a rather large- and rather well-known- crush on Lily Evans, but _this, _this was something else.

Sanity had gone on holiday. Logic had taken to running away screaming when she came into focus. Propriety, maturity, intelligence… all had forsaken him. He felt like bashing his head against a wall; maybe he could knock some sense into himself.

_Smack! _

"James… James? Jamesie, Jimmy, Jim-bob? What are you _doing_?"

_Smack!_

He ignored the irritating voice of one of his best mates, Sirius, and continued murdering his brain cells. It wasn't as though he actually _used _them.

_Smack! Crash!_

James jerked away from the wall instinctively, resisting the urge to rub his battered forehead. "James!" Yelled Sirius, staring at the ground. "You broke Remus'…thingamabob!"

He glanced over at the broken lamp-Remus had an affinity for muggle things, especially those of the electronic variety- pointed his wand and muttered _reparo _in its general direction. That finished, he continued his assault on the dorm wall.

"Alright, alright! James, stop, you're breaking the wall!" Sirius cried, staring in bafflement and horror-and some amusement, yes- as one of his best friends seemingly attempted to permanently disable himself mentally. _Not that he wasn't already mentally disabled, _Sirius thought.

James considered this, and thought about having to explain a destroyed dormitory wall to McGonagall. What would he say? That he was in love and felt the need to knock his brain cells out of place? Yes, that would go over well. With that in mind he stopped, stared at the dent he'd made, and rested his head against it dejectedly. He couldn't explain it, but the most recent rejection-Lily had blatantly ignored his advances, complaining of an annoying fly buzzing about her ear- had hit him especially hard. It was as though he'd suddenly woken up and realized, _wow, it's been almost seven years and she still hates my guts. _

She could be quite horrible to him, yes, and many-including his best friends- wondered why he even bothered. But he'd seen her, in those quiet moments no one noticed, smiling at one of those sappy romance novels she claimed she hated. He'd watched as she gave up her own much-needed study time to help some first or second year with their work. He knew her favorite color, her favorite food, her least favorite song, her favorite flower-which surprisingly (or not so much) wasn't a lily. She loved dandelions. She said, once, that just because they were weeds didn't mean they were any less beautiful, and they were often overlooked.

He knew that she absolutely hated mornings, and waited until the last possible second to get out of bed and get ready for the day. He'd seen her cry, silently, holding a tearstained letter in her hands in the back of the library. He knew that she liked to pretend she was invincible, and that she never let anyone see her cry or fall apart-in those rare moments that she even did.

He knew _her. _And he loved every bit-good, bad, and absolutely wonderful.

Was he forever going to be cursed with unrequited love? Seven years was a long time to be hung up on one girl, but he couldn't do anything about it. Would he die alone, loving and reminiscing a fiery redhead with a mean right hook (he knew from experience) and the sweetest smile you ever saw?

The wall was beginning to look inviting again.

Sirius, reading his expression, jumped into action. He grabbed James' shoulders and led him over to a bed, ranting as they walked-or rather, Sirius walked and James was dragged. "Oh, no you don't, Minnie'll kill us if you wreck the dormitory, and I'm not sure even _I _could flirt my way out of that one, so you just sit down like a good boy and tell Doctor Black what's wrong. Dr. Black will fix it."

James gave him a sideways glare. "You're ridiculous."

Sirius grinned. "No, I'm Sirius. I'd think after so long as best mates you'd be able to get my name right. But really, why were you abusing the wall?"

James scowled at the floor childishly, attempting to burn a hole through the carpet. He was feeling oddly destructive.

Apparently deciding that the floor would have to remain intact another day, he turned and flopped onto the bed, shoving his face down into the pillows. He mumbled something that, to Sirius' ears, sounded remarkably like, "Lgrfmhlnrthom."

"Yeah, whatever language that was, I don't speak it."

James turned his head to glare at the smart aleck. "It was English, you moron. And I said that Evans has deep-fried my brain." He promptly pushed his face back into the pillows-which smelled oddly of chocolate. This must be Remus' bed, he decided.

"Some form of English I wasn't previously aware of, then. And if Evans had, in fact, deep fried your brain, I-"

"Who's getting deep fried?" Remus suddenly said, walking through the doorway and raising his eyebrows at the sight-and conversation-he'd walked in on.

"-think that probably you'd have a few more problems than just a need to break things."

"Why are we breaking things?" Remus said incredulously.

Sirius turned to Remus. "Oh, Jamesie here is moaning over Evans again. I walked in on him trying to knock himself out on the wall. I, being the hero that I am, saved him just in time."

Remus looked at him skeptically. "I'm sure you did. James?"

He sighed and turned, unwillingly, to look at Remus. "Lily rejected me again."

"…I'm sorry, but I don't see how this is cause to injure yourself. Isn't this kind of a daily occurrence?"

"Hourly, I'd wager." Sirius offered.

James scowled at him yet again. "Not. Helping."

Remus shook his head. "But seriously-Sirius, don't you dare- why is this one any different?"

Sirius looked decidedly put out. James threw up his hands exasperatedly." I don't know! I don't know. It's like I suddenly realized that it's been seven years, and nothing has changed! She still hates me. I still love her. We still can't have a civil conversation. Am I doomed to live this way forever?" He sighed dramatically.

Remus looked at him thoughtfully. "No. Or at least, probably not. You just need a different course of action. A… plan B, since subjecting yourself to pain and rejection over and over doesn't seem to be getting the job done."

Sirius grinned. "Aw! But Moony, think of the _entertainment value _in Jamesie and Lily-flower's… interactions!" He said, for lack of a better word. Really, there was no word in the English language that did James and Lily's relationship any justice. "Quite honestly, the girl amazes me; the amount of creativity she puts into her rejections…"

"Shut it, Padfoot, or you'll find out just how much creativity _I _have."

Remus watched them banter back and forth, a plan forming in that brilliant mind of his. It wasn't a well-known fact, but Remus was really just as much of a Marauder as the other three-he was just far better at playing innocent. Many of their more famous pranks had been his own ideas, as much as he tried to play at being the most "mature" of the group.

Suddenly Remus smiled, a mischievous smile that few ever saw. It was so rare, in fact, that James and Sirius immediately quit their arguing and death threats and looked up at him apprehensively.

"Uh…Moony?"

"You're scaring me."

"Mooooony?"

"I have an idea," Remus suddenly said. "Just how much do you want Lily to love you back, James?"

James swallowed hard, looking down at the floor again. "More than anything," he said quietly.

Remus nodded, the pieces of his plan falling into place. This was going to be brilliant. "Good," he said. "Because this isn't going to be easy."

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**A/N Dun dun dun! Lol. So, first chapter! I won't ask for reviews, because I'm mostly posting this because I love writing, but it IS always nice to know what other people think of what you write ;)  
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**Okay, so I am asking for reviews-shoot me :D**

**I already have the next chapter planned out and partly written, so it should be uploaded fairly soon!**


	2. Chapter 2

"So here's the plan," Remus said, sitting with his feet tucked underneath him on the bed opposite the other two boys. "Basically, you have to attack her mentally. Make her think of nothing other than you."

James raised his eyebrows skeptically. "And…how do you propose I do that? The only time Evans ever willingly thinks of me is when she's planning out the various ways she could murder me."

Sirius took that as his cue. "Suffocation, stabbing, pillows… a spoon could be effective…"

James glared at him and opened his mouth to tell him to shut it-again-before closing it again and looking at him confusedly. "A spoon? Why a spoon?"

"Guys!" Remus shook his head exasperatedly. "_Anyway, _that's my point, James. The only thoughts and memories she has of you are bad ones. Let me explain this to you: you have to invade her thoughts, her life, but in such a way that she won't realize you're doing it on purpose, because then she might kill you. She does seem to be rather creatively inclined towards that, after all. Make it so that everything she does, every thought she has, relates back to you in some way. It needs to be such a thorough invasion that she won't be able to see anything, even so inconsequential as a bit of parchment, without thinking of the splatters of ink you always have all over your hands. Now, mind you, these thoughts have to be good ones, or you'll just push her farther away.

"Basically, overshadow all of your bad history with new, good memories. Specifically, everywhere something bad has happened between you two, replace it with something good. Place yourself _everywhere. _You need to fill her head so full of you that it overflows to her heart."

James and Sirius sat in silence (for once), thinking this new plan of action over. It was rather brilliant, James realized. He hadn't known Moony could be such a romantic. "Moony," James said slowly, looking at his mate through new eyes. "You're a genius. Has anyone told you that lately?"

"Ah, once or twice."

"Serio-Honestly, though!" James quickly amended, casting a quick glance at Sirius-who, thankfully, seemed oblivious. "Where'd you learn to win a girl over like that?"

"Well you know, I read," Remus said offhandedly, his fight to keep a smug grin off his face failing spectacularly.

"You read." Sirius repeated in disbelief. "You read, and suddenly you're some sort of love guru? Does that not seem…_backwards _to anyone?" Sirius was having an exceptionally difficult time processing this bit of information.

Remus grinned cheekily, laughing at his friend's confusion. It was just like Sirius, to assume he was the stereotypical nerd. "I do recall telling you that reading had its own benefits, Padfoot."

"Well, yes," Sirius conceded. "But I thought you meant…_academic _benefits!" He shuddered dramatically.

"There's that too, of course, but-"

"Guys!" James cut in. "Wooing Lily? Wedding dates? Names of future black-haired, green-eyed children? _Ringing any bells? _Well, other than church bells, I mean."

Remus and Sirius stared at him as though he'd gone off the deep end-which, judging by the dent currently residing on the wall next to the door, he had.

Finally Remus replied. "Well, that's about all I can help you with, James. It's your job to make Lily Evans fall in love with you."

James grumbled under his breath, his mood worsening with every step as he made his way towards to the Great Hall. After a bit more discussion about The Plan (it was capitalized in James' head), they'd decided-or rather, Remus had decided- that James should avoid any interaction with Lily for a while, so she didn't catch on to the next phase, where he would begin his invasion.

'_No talking, no looking, no interacting, no touching, no random monologues on the depth of your love for Lily, and for the love of Merlin, James, do not ask her out!'_

So basically, he was to ignore her. Pretend that he didn't lose his breath every time she smiled. Avoid mapping out the exact dimensions of her beautiful face, or deciding precisely what shade of red her hair was today (it was a little different each morning, he'd decided).

And then, when she became comfortable in the knowledge that he'd finally left her alone (as if), he'd strike hard and with new determination and she'd fall madly in love with him and he'd conjure up a majestic white steed upon which they'd ride off into the sunset and live happily ever after!

Theoretically.

Finally reaching the Gryffindor table, James tried to wipe the ever-present scowl from his face and pretend to be perfectly normal-minus his usual, flamboyant greeting to Lily.

He sat down and pulled over a platter of bacon, helping himself to what was most likely more than his fair share. He watched from the corner of his eye as Lily tensed up subconsciously, preparing herself for whatever onslaught of humiliation Potter had in store for her that day. 'Twas a tragic life she led, really.

He took a bite of bacon.

Lily looked at him, her face a mixture of apprehension and resignation. If he hadn't done anything yet, it meant that he was in the planning stages. She started going through different hexes in her head, trying to decide which one to use on him when the time came. And it would; of this she was sure.

However, breakfast passed with not even a semblance of acknowledgment from James, and she couldn't help but feel a little mystified. This had never happened before.

By dinner she seemed to accept that he had nothing up his sleeve, and she was safe for the day. She sent him suspicious looks periodically, as though she couldn't quite believe she'd gotten a whole day off from the harassment of Potter. Was something wrong with him? Was he ill? Did he not…_fancy _her anymore? Maybe he was starting to move on, she speculated. Wouldn't that be…nice. Ahem.

She quickly contradicted herself (because of course he wasn't over her, that was just silly), and decided that he must be planning something big, something mortifying. But then, wouldn't he have at least attempted to interact with her?

Lily decided then that she would…_initiate contact_-she almost gagged at the idea-and see what happened from there.

She walked over to him, her hands feeling oddly clammy. Must be coming down with something, she decided. She couldn't possibly be _nervous. _"Hello, Potter," Lily said, hoping for a casual tone. This was uncharted territory.

James froze, eyes wide. Remus hadn't said anything about this! What was he to do? He couldn't blatantly ignore her, but what if deviating from the plan ruined his chances? Oh, where was his love guru when he needed him?

Finally, after what felt like hours of deliberation (but was really only seconds), he turned around and politely said, "Hello, Evans. How are you?" He was proud that his voice came out sounding cool and aloof, though his heart pounded inside his chest. What was happening?

Surprise registered on Lily's face and she looked at him oddly. "I'm…alright. And you?"

This was awkward. James wasn't prepared for this sort of interaction; he'd never had an _awkward _moment with Lily. There was always something to say, be it insulting or flirtatious. But _this_…

"I'm alright," he responded, shuffling his feet and resisting the urge to push his fingers through his hair. It was a nervous habit he'd had for as long as he could remember.

She nodded, looking down at her feet. They stood there for a few moments, both nervously examining their shoes with faked interest. James noticed that his own pair needed a good washing, they were looking a bit on the dirty, scuffed side. Finally Lily broke the silence. "Well… I should be going, then, I suppose."

James glanced up and nodded, partly sad to see her go after quite possibly the first non-hostile conversation (if it could be called that) they'd ever had. The other part of him was desperate to run up to his dorm and find the dent he'd made the day before. His brain cells were failing him.

"Er, yeah, I need to, um…go to the library," he blurted out, his hand unconsciously inching towards his hair before he caught it and held it in his other one. Lily's eyebrow went up and her hand found its place on her hip. He choked on his breath; why was she so gorgeous?

"I'm sure," she said disbelievingly, a faint smirk showing. "You avoid the library like the plague, Potter."

He smiled sheepishly. "Yes, well, genius as I am, even I need to study sometimes."

"Ah, yes, genius as you are. Always with the giant ego, I see."

His smile slipped slightly before he realized that she was teasing him. She was _teasing_ him! Moony's plan worked, or was working. Though, now that he thought about it, he was breaking the rules here. Probably best to leave before Remus caught him…

"Well, nice as it is talking with you Lily, I really do have to be somewhere." Maybe he would hold off on his "braining himself" plan, or Plan C, as he now dubbed it.

"Of course, sorry to keep you. Goodbye Potter," she said, her voice slipping back into her cool, Head Girl voice.

He nodded towards her, slightly bewildered. His feet carried him towards the Gryffindor common room, but his head was in the clouds. Did what just happen count as a conversation? Did that actually _happen_?

A few minutes later, after getting lost twice due to the extremely small amount of attention he was giving towards his navigation, he finally burst into the seventh year dormitory with a loud shout of victory.

Progress had been made!

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_**A/N**_** Horrible ending, I know, but I had to end it somewhere and I felt like I'd begun to ramble lol. Oh well, tell me what you think! :D**


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